Lucy A. Marsh is a Professor of Law at the University of Denver College of Law and a daughter of Thompson G. Marsh. This patchwork quilt of stories about Thompson G. Marsh has been stitched together by Lucy A. Marsh, with the able design assistance of her sisters Alice Marsh Abbott and Mary Marsh Zulack, who deeply regret not having been able to fit all of the colorful memories into this design.

Who could teach Future Interests, Hohfeldian Analysis, Mining Law, Conveyancing, Contracts, Legal Philosophy, Torts, Corporations, Property, and "Life"—for sixty years? Who could win both the Bloody Hatchet,1 Outstanding Professor, and Distinguished Teacher Awards in the same year?2 Who could give a radio address on "The Rights and Responsibilities of Backseat Drivers"3 or decide to invite his future wife to climb Long’s Peak—on their first date? Here are a few anecdotes about Thompson G. Marsh that should give readers an idea of the kind of man he was and why he is remembered fondly by so many as one of Colorado’s "greatest." But first, a little background is in order.

The Training of Thompson G. Marsh

Thompson G. Marsh was born on March 15, 1903, in Lacon, Illinois, the eldest of three children. His family moved to Ft. Morgan, Colorado, in 1913 and to Denver in 1915. Dr. Marsh attended Manual Training High School (now just Manual High School). He went on to earn a bachelors degree from the University of Denver in 1924, with a double major in mathematics and English. He received his LL.B. from the University of Denver College of Law in 1927, became DU’s first full-time law professor that year, and continued to teach at DU for the next sixty years.

Professor Marsh also earned an LL.M. from Northwestern in 1931 and a master’s degree in history from DU in the same year. As a lifelong bird enthusiast, his master’s thesis was entitled, "A History of the First Records of All the Birds Reported to Have Been Seen Within the Present Boundaries of the State of Colorado Prior to Settlement." He was a Sterling Fellow at Yale in 1935, and received a J.S.D. from Yale Law School, studying Hohfeldian Analysis and Jural Pasigraphy.

During World War II, Professor Marsh was the Regional Price Attorney for the Office of Price Administration in Denver. The recipient of the Evans Award from DU, he also was awarded the Colorado Bar Association’s Award of Merit in 1985 and an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from DU in 1987.

Red, Black, and Green

Thompson Marsh was a legendary law professor at DU for sixty years. Former Dean Dan Hoffman, along with multitudes of other students, recalls: "Tom’s requirement was that his students use different colors to underline various parts of a court decision. . . .4 We often joked about that, but it was an incredible teaching tool —it made you think like a lawyer. There are former students of Tom who still use that method of case analysis to this very day.

"An example of Tom’s method would be using the right color to underline only the facts absolutely essential to the holding of the case. For example, a sentence in the opinion of the court might say: ‘The plaintiff was a 26-year-old woman who purchased the subject property in 1953 from the XYZ corporation.’ Depending on other facts in the case, the only relevant words in that sentence might be ‘. . . plaintiff . . . purchased . . . property . . . from . . . corporation.’ There, of course, might be circumstances where age, sex, year, or corporate name could be essential facts. At least we all quickly found out that ‘the’ was not essential."5

Mastering the correct analysis was not easy. Colorado Court of Appeals Judge Joann Vogt recalls that in the Future Interests class: "We were seated around a small table but were expected to stand up to recite. Professor Marsh had a small index card for each student. If you recited correctly, you got a mark indicating your performance was ‘adequate.’ That was the best you could do. One day, I had started my recitation but had clearly gone astray at some point, probably mistaking a possibility of reverter for a fee simple subject to condition subsequent or some such thing. Professor Marsh looked increasingly displeased and, as I continued to fall deeper into error, finally took out his hearing aid in disgust and put it on the table.

"At that point, I didn’t know whether to keep going or just sit down in disgrace. In response to someone’s grumbling about whether we’d ever need to know this stuff, he agreed we’d probably never see a rule against perpetuities problem because we wouldn’t recognize it as such. As you can probably guess, I loved Professor Marsh’s class and hope I haven’t disgraced him since then by missing too many rule against perpetuities violations!"6

Missing class was not a means of escape. As recalled by Patricio Serna, Chief Justice of the New Mexico Supreme Court: "One day, I missed Property class because the day before I had an impacted wisdom tooth removed and I did not feel very well. I told my roommate . . . to explain my absence in the event my card came to the top of the list that day. Well, lo and behold, Professor Marsh called on me that day and still gave me a black mark, even though [my roommate] explained my absence.

"The next day, I went to see Professor Marsh to attempt to persuade him to take back the black mark. He refused. . . . I never missed another Property class and ended up with four bonus points rather than six. That experience taught me to go the extra mile. I would not be on the New Mexico Supreme Court today had I not gone the extra mile in my campaign. Thank you, Professor Marsh!"7

Being a valued personal friend of Tom’s did not help. As well-known attorney Mary Hoagland recalls, "In the fall of 1972, I had finally figured out a way to get admitted to Law School—just show up with a check. I had run into Professor Marsh while lurking around its halls looking longingly. And he would say: ‘When are they going to let you in, Mary?’ I had known Thompson and Susan [his wife] for years.

"My first day as a freshman I was required to take Professor Marsh’s Property I. He called me Dr. Hoagland [he called everyone doctor, probably to make them feel more professional]. Wow! Pretty heady stuff for a middle-aged woman raising four kids. He had prepared a card for each of us, all freshmen. He shuffled the deck at the beginning of each class and called on the first name to come up. If you failed to give the appropriate answer, a black mark was placed on your record. Some of the smart ones refused to respond when called upon, as they knew they were still unknown to him. A few days into this class, the first name is called: MINE. (No ducking for me.) I did a pretty bad job of providing a satisfactory answer and accepted my black mark.

"The next day, the shuffle and again a name came up: AGAIN MINE. Same scenario. NOW I know there is nothing random to this game of card shuffling, so I studied my head off for day three. We were all struggling to learn the red, the black and the green of case analysis. Shuffle, shuffle! Horrors! It was me again. No matter how much of a proper answer I came up with there was always more he wanted. THREE BLACK MARKS—and the semester not a week old. I was mortified. A class full of young men who had finally escaped their mothers, and, Holy Cow, here was a mother among them and . . . doing poorly. I’m sure I followed all this up with a good cry in the ladies’ room. He taught me that this is not a fair world. And I eventually loved him again."8

There is one recorded instance in which having a very good friend as a classmate did provide a successful escape. Former DU Dean Dan Hoffman says: "Probably my favorite story is that when I was a student in Tom’s Future Interests class (probably 1958), I sat in the back row with a group of friends. . . . One day he directed a question at a friend sitting next to me who whispered: ‘I can’t take another hit; please answer for me.’ I did, and apparently the answer was right.

"Years later when I had become Dean in 1978, I went to see Tom in his faculty office to tell him about my 1958 sin. I said: ‘I want to confess to something I did as one of your students in Future Interests that was very wrong.’ Tom said: ‘Oh, you mean when you answered the question directed to [name withheld]?’ I was incredulous and said, ‘Yes, but you never said anything to either of us.’ He said, ‘I figured if you were so loyal to your friend and would risk suspension from school and a failing grade, I wouldn’t dock you and I gave [name withheld] a plus for his answer.’"9

Some students sought refuge in gambling. Ralph Torres (who later became a great friend of Thompson and Susan Marsh and a prominent Denver attorney specializing in employment and labor law in the federal court system)10 recalls that "first quarter in Property class, to make Professor Marsh’s shuffling of the cards more interesting and rewarding, we set up a pool. Each participant would kick in a dollar, and if you were in the pool, if you were called on, you would win—whether or not you answered correctly. I was called on (when I already had two black marks) and . . . my answer was that I had won the pool. The class roared, Professor Marsh promptly tore up my card, and I was out of the game."11

Another vivid description of Tom’s classes is from Connie Hyde, of Gorsuch Kirgis. She recalls: "In the view of our classmates, those of us . . . who signed up for Dr. Marsh’s course on ‘Construction of Wills, Deeds and Trusts’ were, variously, awesomely brave, or masochistic, or terminally stupid. This man was no Mr. Chips. . . . Not that he was without humor in the classroom, but it was the driest of wit, and his kindness was mostly visible in that he spared the less-gifted student (but not lazy or ill-prepared) the Olympian disdain he showered on the rest of us.

"Those who took the class will remember that the core of the course was a five-inch thick ring-binder notebook of cases hand-picked by Dr. Marsh to illustrate the fine and esoteric nuances of future interests law and that the structure of each class involved one student, chosen at random and summoned to the front to ‘recite’ the facts, analysis and holding of the five cases assigned for the class. (Now this was serious Old School. I suspect that Dr. Marsh would have happily conducted the class in Latin, but for our lamentable deficiencies.)

"After watching several of my friends, whom I knew to be well-prepared, go blank in their recitations and after several classes in which our fumbling attempts at analysis were dismissed with a flick of the hand, I realized that what I thought was more than adequate preparation wasn’t even close for this class. I began preparing for each class as if I were going to do battle and spent far too much of my walking around time preoccupied with the next set of cases. I even fell to ‘reciting’ the cases over breakfast and lunch to my preschool children, who seemed to be much taken with watching their mother speak in tongues (and who, as adults, show no obvious damage from the experience). And battle it was: every class, every case, every point. . . . This was a Titan challenging us to combat, with only our minds as weapons and our preparation as defense.

"Certainly, through a long real estate career, future interests have come up from time to time. . . . Still, twenty-plus years later, I find that in the corner of the bottom shelf of the bookcase in my office is that five-inch binder of future interests cases. Now this is curious. I am not, by nature, a paper-saver. I don’t have a single page of notes from classes in college or graduate school or law school—except that five-inch binder. It is not as though I really think Dr. Marsh is likely to materialize in my office and challenge me to discuss the differences between a springing and shifting executory interest. Then again, it doesn’t hurt to be prepared."12

Developing Young Minds

Behind the rigorous analysis he demanded in class, Tom had a genuine concern for the welfare of students as individuals. Professor Howard Rosenberg recalls that when Tom noticed that certain students in his classes had become "disillusioned with law school and with the prospect of more classes, Professor Marsh would call me, and then encourage the students to see me [as Internship Coordinator or Director] about an internship that would energize them and enable them to continue on with renewed enthusiasm."13

Dana Collier Smith, Assistant Executive Director at the CBA/DBA, said that when the CBA/DBA and the law school were both located downtown, "[W] e could always tell when Prof. Marsh had spoken at the beginning of the year to his first-year students because we would get a rush of them wanting to sign up for student membership in the associations. It was my understanding that he made it clear to them that they wouldn’t pass his class unless they joined the CBA/DBA. We loved it!"14 Chuck Turner, Executive Director of the CBA/DBA, remembers being one such student, joining the CBA/DBA during his first year of law school on specific instructions of Professor Marsh.15

Tom took great pleasure in the accomplishments and character of his former students. And the students rewarded Tom numerous times with The Bloody Hatchet Award. Dick Laugesen, the student who actually mounted the Bloody Hatchet on a plaque, remembers, "It was given to the professor who during the year had been the sternest and stingiest grader. . . . Dr. Marsh was the proud recipient of the ‘Bloody Hatchet’ Award several times while I was in law school, and it is my understanding that he was often the recipient both before and after my time. . . . Although seemingly very stern, if one looked closely, there was always a twinkle in [his] eye. Dr. Marsh truly cared about his students and was phenomenally successful in his chosen profession of developing young minds."16

Law School and Other Colleagues

Some of Professor Marsh’s colleagues provided further remembrances and anecdotes. Professor Emeritus John Carver remembers, "Thirty years ago when I joined the DU law faculty, Thompson Marsh had already completed forty-plus years of teaching, and was destined to continue for almost another two decades. At his death, three generations of Colorado lawyers shared the experience of having ‘had’ Tom Marsh. For almost all of them, it was the most memorable of their law school years—no student ever forgot him. Becoming a close friend of Thompson and Susan Marsh connected me with those traditions and those lawyers. He was a wonderful person."17

Bill Beaney, another of Thompson’s most treasured colleagues at DU, remembers: "In discussing his time at Yale Law [as a Sterling Fellow, earning his J.S.D.], when analytical jurisprudence was at its height in this country, Tom recalled the intellectual excitement and sheer joy of being a participant. Nothing in his later life would match it."18 Beaney also remembers that "Tom resisted the growing efforts of the faculty to play a larger role in the running of the law school. ‘They should tend to something they understand—their subject matter,’ he argued. ‘Let Deans do their job.’"19

Tom appreciated the work being done by other members of the law school community. Bev Roberts, de facto archivist for the law school, recalls, "Once, when I was in the hospital, I received a note from Professor Marsh. It said something to the effect that I needed to get back to work so I could hunt for things he mislaid. I was so surprised and very touched to think he took the time to write a personal note to me. I knew him for eighteen years and learned what a gentle man he was and what great wit—but mostly how he really cared that the students learn."20

Professor Emeritus and former Colorado Supreme Court Justice Greg Scott recalls: "On one of my last visits with Professor Marsh, I visited him at his hospital or convalescence facility. It was late in 1992 and Governor Romer had just announced my appointment to the court. As I entered, Professor Marsh, with a slight smile on his face, said, ‘Well, professor, it looks as though you are going to take next semester off and assume the responsibilities of the black robe.’ I acknowledged his comments and thanked him for his well wishes. I then made the mistake of asking for Professor Marsh’s assessment of the work before me.

"His smile broadened, his eyes twinkled, and touching my arm, he reinvigorated me with confidence when he confided, ‘Well, the Governor probably surprised himself with his choice appointing you to the court because you have less judicial experience than the other two (both sitting judges); however, it did not surprise me that he selected the person who will make the best justice—even though one of your shortcomings is you don’t have a DU degree!’ While Thompson made his comment in jest and out of sympathy for a colleague about to leave the university, I recall . . . [answering] ‘You’re right Thompson, my education would only be completed had I had Professor Marsh for Future Interests.’ We both laughed. . . . Truth be known, Professor Thompson Marsh had a way of teaching the whole faculty—for those willing to be educated."21

Ved Nanda, the Thompson G. Marsh Professor of Law and Director of the International Legal Studies Program, also thoroughly enjoyed having Thompson as a colleague, even though Thompson frequently said, "There is no such thing as International Law."22

Tom always enjoyed being in the company of other lawyers, and was frequently in attendance at continuing legal education programs. Willis Carpenter remembers seeing Tom at a real estate course Willis was giving for paralegals. "I approached him and asked respectfully, and I hope obliquely, what in the hell he was doing there. He told me he liked to keep in touch with the ‘real world’ of law practice, and attending CLE programs was one way of doing it. . . . After many sessions, and Professor Marsh still attending most of them, at one point I had a question from a student where I did not know the answer. So I seized the moment and called on Professor Marsh to enlighten us. I remember distinctly his large smile as he answered rather quietly, ‘Sorry, Mr. Carpenter, but I am unprepared.’ In the laughter that followed, the question was forgotten and went unanswered. In due course, I was able to pick up the pieces and proceed."23

Thompson and Susan never missed attending the Colorado Bar Association conventions, and enjoyed the reputation of being the last ones to leave the dance floor. Dana Collier Smith also recalls watching [them] ice skate at the Broadmoor’s World Arena during one convention. "It was magical!"24 Tom felt tremendously honored when the Colorado Bar Association awarded him the Award of Merit in 1985. He commented, "I share your astonishment."25

Tom also was a charter member of "POETS" [translation available only to members] and thoroughly enjoyed the monthly gatherings of real estate lawyers. The meetings include lively discussion of current legal issues and, as Willis Carpenter explains it, "We prefer not to research the law or look up citations, but rather go from memory and argue strenuously on every point that arises. [Tom] enjoyed the repartee of these rough and tumble and often humorous sessions. Even he could not resist chiming in from time to time. His intervention always ended the discussion on that point because (a) invariably he was correct; and (b) who in the group was going to take him on?"26

Thompson Marsh treated each person as an individual. He enjoyed equally his conversations with a homesteader in Alaska; a hermit in Utah; his treasured friends at POETS,27 Law Club, and Cactus Club; and a class of eighth-grade students.28

Passions and Pursuits

Thompson Marsh had a love of books that continued throughout his life. "When the College of Law was at 14th and Bannock . . . Professor Marsh would spend time each day in the Hughes Room, reading Shakespeare,"29 commented Gary Alexander, who is Assistant Dean/Director, Westminster Law Library.

Birds were another major passion. According to the New York Times, Thompson Marsh saw more than 800 different species of birds in his lifetime.30 He once told Bruce Heitler, "I don’t think that I ever had seen more North American birds than anyone else. There are two men who have more complete records than I do. One is a professional—he works for the U.S. Forest Service. . . . The other fellow just took off from his work, money was no object, and spent a few years traveling around the country identifying birds.’"31

Nancy Nones, long-time secretary to Thompson Marsh, remembers: "Professor Marsh and I had a secret code. If I ever received a phone call about a rare bird waiting to be spotted by him I was to interrupt his class and tell him that he had an ‘emergency’ call from home. Actually, I don’t think he ever cut a class short, but he could leave in a hurry! I think the birds always knew to wait for him."32

Moreover, the Marsh family was musical. Every night after dinner, the family played string quartets, described as "family music," a term that Judge Vogt remembers Professor Marsh stating was an oxymoron.33 Although "family music" must have been a change of pace for Susan Marsh, who was a professional musician, and a member of the Denver Symphony for twenty years, the experience of trying to play great music, just for the fun of it, provided life-long enjoyment.

Tom loved the outdoors. Both he and Susan Marsh climbed all of the "fourteeners" in Colorado (peaks over 14,000 feet high); several, more than once. As their frequent climbing partner, Jim Gehres, once wrote to Thompson, "I am particularly proud to have been with you when you completed the Colorado Fourteeners. Most climbers endure misery in their obsession with obtaining the goal. You have always seemed to enjoy being miserable. To be serious, though, I am convinced that your faculty for adapting to adverse conditions is a source of the inspiration you have provided [to me and] to countless others, both in and out of the legal profession."34

While exercising what Tom always referred to as "academic freedom," the family enjoyed summer-long camping trips, to all of "the lower forty-eight" states, plus Alaska, Canada, and Mexico. Thompson and Susan also went on birding and climbing trips to Hawaii, Europe, and Africa, and rode on camels in Egypt. Twice, they went to West Africa by freighter to visit daughter Alice and her family, taking along their stringed instruments.35

Daughter Mary Marsh Zulack remembers that, in Thompson’s life, "He was immensely rigorous, and yet easily contented. He would move a chair to just the right place to sit and watch a sunset from start to finish. He aspired for the highest . . . but was never ashamed of being a life-time novice (at cello and tennis playing). His oft-repeated motto—‘anything that is worth doing at all, is worth doing poorly’—was no joke. . . . He was always, ‘in process,’ always working on a better system for inspiring students, a better system for recording bird sightings, a better way to design the overhead shade system for the family’s back-yard skating rink."36

A Lifelong Teacher Finally Retires

Tom was proud to be part of the 1957 DU Law faculty, which "agreed that the policy of this College of Law is that there ‘shall be no discrimination based upon race in the admission of students nor in the opportunity to study law and obtain the Bachelor of Laws degree from this institution.’ As far as anyone present could recall and on our best information and belief, that policy dates back to 1892."37 (As, evidently, did DU’s policy of admitting women.)

Dean Emeritus Robert Yegge recalled that, "Tom became the incumbent of the first Chair established at the law school: The Charles Delaney, Jr. Professor of Law. How he enjoyed describing himself as the ‘Junior Professor of Law.’ He also insisted that he was never recommended for tenure, and that he was never formally granted tenure, despite his six decades of teaching at the College. He mused that only those who don’t care about tenure should be granted it."38

Dean Yegge was undoubtedly the single most important person in keeping Thompson Marsh at DU Law School. "Before the legislature and courts spoke otherwise, the University of Denver had a mandatory retirement age of 65. A faculty member could request extension of full-time teaching until 67, which request had to be annually approved by the Board of Trustees. Since Tom didn’t believe in retirement, he would request extension, even beyond 67. My response to him was that he could teach just as long as he wanted, as long as the Board of Trustees concurred. The Board of Trustees never denied my requests for extension of Tom’s full-time teaching, all well beyond 67."39

Tom finally did retire, in 1987, at age 84, after sixty years of teaching. As it turned out, he had spent all but the first five years and the last five years of his life "as a school boy."40 He died December 5, 1992, at the age of 89.

At his retirement, Tom enjoyed giving the commencement address for the entire University, and receiving an honorary degree—Doctor of Humane Letters. He quipped that despite the opinions of some former students, he had now been officially declared to be "Humane." Tom thoroughly enjoyed the law school retirement festivities orchestrated by John Low, President of the Alumni Association; Phil Gauthier, Director of Alumni Relations; and many others. Phil Gauthier recently commented, "Among the most cherished materials in my DU scrapbook are several thank you notes from Thompson Marsh. Each is handwritten. . . . One note, relative to his retirement, concludes: [my retirement was] ‘the finest period of my life, and you’ll be pleased to know that even though it was thoroughly enjoyable, I’ve decided not to do it again.’"41

Gary Alexander (Assistant Dean/Director, Westminster Law Library) recalls, "Upon his retirement from the faculty, the library staff hosted a farewell party in his honor and presented Professor Marsh a copy of The Comic Blackstone, inscribed to ‘A friend of the Law Library,’42 and stating, ‘[We] hope this and your retirement return to you in some small measure the pleasure you have brought to this law school and its library.’"43

As Chief Justice Serna has said, "Through his teaching and by his life, Professor Marsh inspired us to build our reputation upon the attributes of integrity, courage, self-confidence, accomplishment, deep faith, character, love of family, and loyalty—attributes that characterize his own life and spirit. As his former students, it is up to us to hold on to that spirit, and always to do it honor."45

Finally, Chancellor Emeritus Chester M. Alter has stated: "Thompson Marsh was the ultimate as a University professor and as a colleague. . . . He was cosmopolitan in his interests. Law, political science, public service, science, music, the humanities. . . . [He] was not loath to express an opinion. . . . I knew him and his fine family very well. I cherish the memories of his greatness."46

NOTES

1. The Bloody Hatchet was awarded annually by DU law students to the professor who had been "the sternest and stingiest grader." Dick Laugesen, March 25, 2002, fax.

2. Thompson Marsh received the Bloody Hatchet, Outstanding Professor, and Distinguished Teacher Awards in 1970—and each of those awards in many other years.

3. KOA Radio (May 19, 1933). Phil Gauthier, March 19, 2002, note.

4. The colors were: red—who sued whom and for what; black—the rules of law required to reach the decision; green—the necessary facts; blue—important or interesting dictum.

7. Chief Justice Patricio Serna, New Mexico Supreme Court, March 18, 2002, e-mail, from a 1998 essay included in the Denver University Law Review. There is a legend, not attributed to Justice Serna, about a student who had received a grade of F minus in Future Interests and had tried to talk Professor Marsh into raising the grade to an F. Professor Marsh considered the student’s argument for a moment, and then said, "No, because that would not be fair to the students who earned an F."

28. Mary Marsh Zulack, now Professor at Columbia Law School, March 8, 2002, e-mail. "He spoke once to my eighth grade class—gave us all our own advance sheets—and from that class a totally uncharacteristic number of the girls went on to become lawyers. He had a way of making people want to join the profession."

29. Gary Alexander, March 22, 2002, e-mail.

30. New York Times (Dec. 9, 1992) at A 14.

31. Bruce Heitler, March 19, 2002, e-mail.

32. Nancy Nones, March 15, 2002, letter.

33. Judge Joann Vogt, March 22, 2002, e-mail.

34. Jim Gehres, March 2002, fax, including a letter written to Thompson Marsh, May 11, 1987. Jim has climbed all of the fourteeners at least a dozen times each.

35. The summer travels undoubtedly inspired Alice Marsh Abbott to compile a "geographical life list," including: camping from the coast of West Africa to Timbuktu; camping all the way across Arabia, from coast-to-coast; traveling by land from Al’ Aqabah to London; the Sphinx; the Taj Mahal; Alice Springs; the Cape of Good Hope; around Cape Horn to Antarctica; up the Congo River; on the Amazon River; climbing Ptolemy’s Mountains of the Moon with Thompson and Susan, as well as with them to Denver, England (Norfolk), and the zero meridian. Most memorable was the day the family climbed Mt. Whitney, followed by a late night dash by car to Death Valley by Thompson, Alice, and Mary (from the highest point to the lowest in the "lower 48") on the same day.